Dumbed down education

Many years ago we started “dumbing down” educational requirements beginning in elementary schools and continuing through college.

I had four children in elementary school through college during the late ’70s and early ’80s. Presently we have high school graduates who can’t make change at a cash register if the machine doesn’t do it for them.

Colleges provide remedial classes before some high school graduates can take regular college classes. I assume these remedial classes are being paid for by tuition — students getting student loans for what they should have learned in high school. Then colleges “dumbing down” classes to accommodate all of the these students. And so the vicious cycle continues.

My suggestion to solve this problem goes to young parents. Require more of your children than is asked of them in school. If they bring home a math or English assignment, require them to do more. If they bring home no assignments, make up one. They will hate you at the moment, but will eventually thank you. Try to speak English correctly in your home.

Lastly, be sure your children are always reading a book. The love of reading will cure a lot of educational ills.

This story was originally published October 19, 2016 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Dumbed down education."